THE FA Cup and FA Vase gave Mangotsfield United their first wins of the season.
As the Voice went to print, the Mangos had yet to play their first home fixture, having started with four straight away games.
The team never really got going in the season opener at Fairford, despite the home side, who went ahead in the first half, being reduced to 10 men on the hour.
Mangotsfield could not make the extra man pay in the final 30 minutes, as Fairford stood firm to win 1-0.
The performance at Cirencester three days later was much-improved, despite remaining goalless. Both sides worked hard and created chances, but they could not break each other down, and a draw was a fair result.
A 2-1 win at Oxfordshire side Easington Sports in the FA Cup gave the Mangos their first goals of the season.
They roared into an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Mohammed Djalo (5) and James Corey Horrocks (22), then weathered the storm before the break, as the Combined Counties League Premier Division North side fought back.
The hosts pulled one back from the penalty spot on 79 minutes, leading to a frantic final 11 minutes or so, but the Mangos held on to secure a home Preliminary Round tie against Thatcham Town, who play in the same league as Easington, on August 22 at 3pm.
On August 15 the Mangos kicked off their FA Vase campaign at Berkshire side Kintbury Rangers, who play in the Wessex League Division 1.
An early penalty – after an incident that saw Mangos defender Jack Mills sent off – was saved by goalkeeper Ellis Parker, whose man-of-the-match performance saw him pull off several other great saves.
Barbados international Curtis Jemmet-Hutson scored the winner on 40 minutes and the Mangos held on through a nail-biting second half.
Dave Smale
Upcoming fixtures:
August 29: Westfields (home)
August 31: Malmesbury Victoria (away)
September 5: Highworth Town (H)
September 15: Corsham Town (H)
September 19: Droitwich Spa (A)
September 22: Devizes Town (A)
September 26: Roman Glass St George (A)